Until recently, Chinese online pharmacy did not recognize menopause as a disease. Because of the prevalence of menopausal and perimemopausal symptoms in the West, menopause has recently been added to the Chinese Medicine list of diseases. Perimenopause is called jing duan qian hou zhu zheng, which literally translates to "various pathoconditions before and after cutting off one's water supply." It is also known as geng nian qi zong he zheng, which means "the composite of pathoconditions at the time of old age." Menopause is called jing duan, which means "cessation of menstruation," and it in itself is not recognized as a disease. It is simply a physiological change that should occur without any major problems. A long term unhealthy lifestyle or underlying chronic health condition can become apparent during menopause, leading to uncomfortable symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, heart palpitations, anxiety, moodiness, irritability, dizziness, vertigo, fatigue, ear ringing, migraine headaches, hypertension, dryness and atrophy of tissues, and lower back pain or soreness. Though many modern women believe these symptoms are a natural, inevitable part of growing older, the fact is that they are actually a sign of an imbalance within the body. Chinese Medicine treats these conditions very effectively.
So why does menopause lead to so many uncomfortable sensations among modern Western women? The problem begins with unhealthy lifestyle factors that begin in the woman's teens and twenties, creating imbalances in the body that become apparent during her thirties and forties. Women who experience the most severe menopausal symptoms almost always have a longstanding history of what is known as Liver Depression Qi Stagnation. (Keep in mind that this is a Chinese Medical pattern name, and not a Western biomedical disease referring to dysfunction of the liver as it is understood within biomedicine.) Liver Depression Qi Stagnation means that processes and substances within the body are becoming inhibited and not flowing freely. Symptoms of this condition before menopause include menstrual cramps and premenstrual moodiness (which are also pathological and not a "normal" part of being a woman). Social and emotional stress, lack of exercise, and poor eating habits can result in this condition. By their mid-thirties, women's digestion and metabolism begin to wane, and when there is already Liver Depression Qi Stagnation, this lack of free flow of processes and substances begins to worsen, sometimes creating perimenopausal symptoms. The skin fails to be nourished by sufficient blood (because it is becoming stagnant and not flowing freely), and wrinkles develop. By their forties, women begin to produce less yin (fluids, hormones, blood), which is a natural part of aging that does not inherently cause discomfort. Menstruation becomes lighter and eventually ceases, so the woman is no longer losing yin blood each month. This tends to balance out the fact that she is no longer producing as much yin. However, when the woman has had Liver Depression Qi Stagnation for the past ten years (or twenty or even thirty years), the relatively smaller amount of yin that is being produced cannot flow freely and be properly distributed where it needs to go (nutrition from food is not absorbed and properly utilized, hormones don't reach the proper receptor sites, blood circulation is poor, etc.). Therefore, signs of heat such as hot flashes, night sweats, and anger occur.
How does Chinese Medicine relieve menopausal symptoms? A Chinese Medicine practitioner who is skilled in accurate pattern diagnosis can tailor an herbal formula and/or acupuncture point treatment specific to your particular symptoms and underlying pattern. While Liver Depression Qi Stagnation and lack of Yin are general patterns that most women with menopausal discomfort have, there could be other accompanying patterns such as a lack of Yang (testosterone, thyroid hormones, adrenal hormones, osteoblastic activity, and other processes not readily understood by biomedicine), poor digestive function, impaired immune system, psychoemotional problems, etc. Accurate assessment of symptoms, including their severity, as well as an informed and systematic process of tongue and pulse diagnosis will help the practitioner to determine the correct treatment for your particular situation. Unlike the typical Western biomedical treatment of menopausal symtoms with hormone replacement therapy and osteoporosis drugs, Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture do not produce dangerous side effects.
